Fashion

Essential Engagement Party Rules You Should Know About

Overlooking an engagement party is easy, especially since the excitement of planning for the wedding overshadows everything else. Sure, an engagement party isn’t a requirement, but many couples do have a close friend or a parent that wants to throw a party for them. With that said, let’s discuss a few engagement party rules you should know about.

Who Hoses An Engagement Party

In most cases, couples don’t host their own party, unless they plan on getting everyone together and actually announce their engagement there. Generally speaking, it is not polite for the couple to ask someone to throw them an engagement party because the proper thing to do is to wait for someone to offer. The except to this is if you’re asking a close family member.

One of the parents of the couple usually are the ones who host the party. In some cases, two different engagement parties may take place, if the two families live in different areas of the country. Another person who could host an engagement party includes a best man or the maid of honour.

When Should It Be Held

There is no rule on when the party should be held, but the sooner you hold it (after announcing your engagement), the better. As a general rule of thumb, it should be held a few months before the wedding. Three months after the engagement is announced is a good time to have the party.

Before the party, you should have an idea of what kind of venue you want, as well as the date of the wedding. It’s a good idea to have the rings on show. A lot of people find that there isn’t a lot of time to plan a party because time flies between the time of the announcement of their engagement and planning for the actual wedding.

Who Should Be Invited

You might think to throw a massive party and inviting everyone is the way to go, but keeping things small and intimate is better. Just invite your closest friends and a few family members. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to not invite people who will not be attending your wedding.

Seeing that one of your parents will be hosting the party, it is important that each side of the family sends out an equal amount of invitations. Remember, one of the reasons engagement parties are thrown is to get everyone together, so they can become comfortable and more relaxed when the big day arrives. So, people who are going to be at the party should be invited to the wedding.

Are Gifts Required

Guests are not required to give gifts to a couple, and you shouldn’t expect to receive gifts. Some couples do a register for gifts, but some people might think this is greedy, especially if they are going to be buying gifts to give at the wedding. Do not mention gifts when you send out invitations. Unless you are stating you don’t want gifts, then there’s no need to mention anything about gifts.

It isn’t necessary, but a lot of people will still show up with gifts such as silver gifts for men and women or a single gift for the couple, so you should tell the host a few ideas for gifts. The chances are the host will ask you, so tell them what you would like, even if you make it clear you don’t want gifts. Furthermore, send out thank you cards to everyone that attended the party, even if they didn’t bring a gift.

Party favours are not required either, but some people like to give their guests items that they can bring home. Save-the-date trinkets are excellent to give. Also, you can give your guests a small bottle of wine, and you can have the save-the-date label on the wine bottles.